Hi all

Dear All,

Please help me to write an motivation letter which can impress the professor. As the submission deadline is tomorrow I would really appreciate any critical comments and suggestions for improvements.

Thank you for your time and expertise

Best,

Arash

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my interest in the doctoral program in the project XXX at XXXX University.

I am particularly keen to apply for the subproject XXX because the mosaic virtue of memories, as well as the way they were constructed as a result of interaction between mind and space through various senses, has always been interesting to me.

I hold BSc degree in biology (2000-2005) and a Master in cultural anthropology (2006-2009). I chose anthropology very consciously since it was the only discipline I knew in which both my scientific and artistic attitudes were simultaneously being satisfied. I am one of those whose homeland are literature; one who conceives and perceives the world as the interwoven narratives.

After holding my master, I develop a particular interest in the narrative of violence; whether written or oral ones. To be more specific, on the legitimization of violence. Not seldom do in our current world, ideologies bring us to the conclusion that the others are worthless and thus even their fundamental rights deserve to be violated. However, surprise raises when culture provokes someone to dehumanize not others, but him/herself. inculcating upon individual’s mind that their own existence is incompatible with social requirements, culture suppresses heterodoxy. As you will find out from my enclosed C.V, within past seven years I have applied narrative analysis to focus on the elimination of identity and individuality in order to create a mass homogeneous society.

To give you a concrete example on this subject, in the Jan 2018 Prof. XXX, suggested me to write a chapter for The Book of Death. By bringing together cultural anthropology and comparative literature, I argued how different narrative genres, including myth, epic, tragedy, and oral narratives of extremists, turn the otherness into the evil and thus legitimate violence. I also argued that novel and memory, due to their generic virtues, resist against such an alchemy.

Driven by a lifelong interest in narratives, I consider memories as a significant stronghold resisting against dehumanization, that is a complex process which always begins by collective amnesia and follows by numbness. We already have stepped in a frightening world beset with populist demagoguery. Everywhere you turn there seems some intended or unintended attempts to reduce human beings to numbers, categories and abstractions. In the world that total explanations try to create dualistic frameworks, memories make us unlearn and reconsider what we thought we knew.

In my studies toward a PhD degree I wish to examine more closely the relationship between collective memory and collective amnesia, as well as the role of ideology in this dialectic. My studies on personal stories, specifically a project I’ve done at XXX city (2009-2010), caused me to consider the question of how ideology gets embedded into personal memory. By ideology, thanks to Hannah Ardent, I mean a broad sense, that is any single story that wishes to explain everything through a narrow narrative.

I am sure you have heard of XXX movement (2009). As far as I know it was the first movement to use social media as a tool to facilitate the process of mobilization. The aforementioned project has been contemplated right after the movement in XXX street of XXX city, where was the center for the people who rallied in it from throughout the region. Please find the more detailed account in my enclosed writing sample. Actually it is an article, extracted from that project, and it was presented at XXXX conferences, Germany; where it could receive many attentions.

Apart from studies, I also work as an organizational anthropologist with a special focus on labor issues, including discrimination, harassment, unemployment and worker’s protests. This gave me a unique opportunity to grow both my field work skills and organizational competencies. During my career I developed analytic skills and learnt how to deal with complex problems in a more systematic way. One of the things I like about the job is the fact that I have an opportunity to let people's stories be heard. What is the impact of discrimination or unemployment on a person’s life and how are people coping with the situation. At the same time, I get a clear idea of what their needs are and how we can improve the quality of career life. I enjoy the fact that this job involves a lot of training programs, organizing workshops and personal empowerment programs. Furthermore, as a project manager, I developed a website which aimed to help people share workplace stories, find appropriate jobs, as well as receiving free consultations. Please check our website at: XXXX

The last thing I would like to draw your attention to, is my background on screenplay writing. I have a sound experiences on screenplay writing; several movies have been made from my screenplays (all are available on demand). This background gave me the unique opportunity to get familiar with movie making process, and if selected, I hope it will help me to manage XXXX project.

I believe that with my work and studies I have a solid foundation, but through research at XXX, I hope to develop expertise and boost the quality of my research. After completing PhD, I planned to pursue a post doc, likely in the area of refugees and their stories. I am keen to continue my education in this subject and to perform my own research which can contribute to the knowledge of the field.

I have attached an updated resume for your review. Please be informed that preparing official transcripts are completely a bureaucratic procedure in XXX and contains lots of paper work. I have uploaded unofficial transcripts; however official ones will be available till December. Thank you very much for considering my inquiry and I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely